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Directions
Use the following list of Greek gods to locate each character on Mount Olympus. Put the appropriate Number next to their
picture on the mountain.
1. ATHENA (a-THEE-nuh; Roman name Minerva) was the goddess of crafts and the domestic arts and
also those of war. She was the patron goddess of Athens. Her symbol was the owl. She was originally
the Great Goddess in the form of a bird. By the late Classic, she had come to be regarded as a
goddess of wisdom
2. DEMETER (dee-MEE-tur; Roman name Ceres) was the goddess of agriculture. Demeter as the sister
of Zeus and the mother of Persephone. Persephone was gathering flowers in a meadow one day when
a huge crack opened up in the earth and Hades, King of the Dead, emerged from the Underworld. He
seized Persephone and carried her off in his chariot, back down to his his realm below, where she
became his queen. Demeter was heartbroken. She wandered the length and breadth of the earth in
search of her daughter, during which time the crops withered and it became perpetual winter. When
depicted in art, Demeter is often shown carrying a sheaf of grain.
3. APHRODITE (a-fro-DYE-tee; Roman name Venus) was the goddess of love, beauty and fertility. She
was also a protectress of sailors. The poet Hesiod said that Aphrodite was born from sea-foam. Homer,
on the other hand, said that she was the daughter of Zeus and Dione.
4. ARES (AIR-eez; Roman name Mars) was the god of war, or more precisely of warlike frenzy. Though
an immortal deity, he was bested by Heracles in battle and was almost killed when stuffed into a jar by
two giants. When another hero wounded him during the Trojan War, he received scant sympathy from
his father Zeus. In appearance, Ares was handsome and cruel. He is often depicted carrying a
bloodstained spear. His throne on Mount Olympus was said to be covered in human skin. The Roman
god Mars, with whom Ares was identified, was the father of Romulus and Remus, the mythological
founders of Rome. Thus he was more important to the Romans than his Greek counterpart. He was
also more dignified.
5. ARTEMIS (AR-ti-mis; Roman name Diana) was the virgin goddess of the hunt. She helped women in
childbirth but also brought sudden death with her arrows. Artemis and her brother Apollo were the
children of Zeus and Leto. In some versions of their myth, Artemis was born first and helped her mother
to deliver Apollo.
6. DIONYSUS (dye-oh-NYE-sus; Roman name Bacchus) was the god of wine. Dionysus was the son of
Zeus and the mortal heroine Semele.
7. POSEIDON (puh-SYE-dun or poh-SYE-dun; Roman name Neptune) was the god of the sea,
earthquakes and horses. Although he was officially one of the supreme gods of Mount Olympus, he
spent most of his time in his watery domain. Poseidon was brother to Zeus and Hades. These three
gods divided up creation. Zeus was ruler of the sky, Hades had dominion of the Underworld and
Poseidon was given all water, both fresh and salt.
8. HERMES (HUR-meez; Roman name Mercury) was the messenger of the gods and guide of dead souls
to the Underworld. A prankster and inventive genius from birth, Hermes aided the heroes Odysseus
and Perseus in their quests. Hermes' symbol of office as divine messenger was his staff, or caduceus.
This was originally a willow wand with entwined ribbons, traditional badge of the herald. But the ribbons
were eventually depicted as snakes. To support this mythologically, a story evolved that Hermes used
the caduceus to separate two fighting snakes which forthwith twined themselves together in peace. It
was Hermes' job to convey dead souls to the Underworld. And as patron of travelers, he was often
shown in a wide-brimmed sun hat of straw. Hermes was known to the Romans as Mercury. His most
famous depiction, a statue by Bellini, shows him alight on one foot, wings at his heels, the snaky
caduceus in hand and, on his head, a rather stylized combination helmet-of-darkness and sun hat.
9. APOLLO (uh-POL-oh; Roman name Apollo) was the god of prophesy, music and healing. As god of
music, Apollo is often depicted playing the lyre. He did not invent this instrument, however, but was
given it by Hermes in compensation for cattle theft. Some say that Apollo did invent the lute, although
he was best known for his skill on the lyre.
10. HERA (HEE-ruh; Roman name Juno) was the goddess of marriage. Hera was the wife of Zeus and
Queen of the Olympians.
11. ZEUS (zoose or zyoose; Roman name Jupiter) was the supreme god of the Olympians. He was the
father of the heroes Perseus and Heracles, the latter of whom once wrestled him to a draw.
12. HEPHAESTUS (he-FEE-stus or he-FESS-tus; Roman name Vulcan) was the lame god of fire and
crafts or the two together, hence of blacksmiths. Hephaestus was the son of Zeus and Hera or, in some
accounts, of Hera alone. He limped because he was born lame, which caused his mother to throw him
off Mount Olympus. Or in other accounts he interceded in a fight between Zeus and Hera, and Zeus
took him by the foot and threw him from Olympus to the earth far below.
13. Pan was a god of shepherds and flocks. Pan was the son of Hermes and a nymph. He was born with
the legs and horns of a goat, which caused his own mother to spurn him.